Monday, November 19, 2012

A Step in the Write Direction--November 19, 2012

A Step in the Write Direction

November 19, 2012

Update:

Not
much new to report. Excited about the Grandmother, Mother, and Me anthology
coming out this week. It was a lot of work, but the book contains such neat
stories, poems, and recipes, it was all worth it! Now I’m beginning to receive
submissions for the Grandfather, Father,
and Me book. If you’d like guidelines, email me at: dgood648@aol.com

I have
two proofreading jobs here—321 and 303 pages, and two editing jobs—125 and 150
pages, so looks like this will be a busy week. The hospital where our two
children work serve a free Thanksgiving for employees, families, and hospital
visitors. My husband can’t walk to the cafeteria, so when our children get off
work at 4:30, I’ll meet them and we’ll bring our plates home to celebrate. Praying you all have a Happy
Thanksgiving.

Thought for
the Day:

Mary
Hollingsworth tells a story about the noted director of biblical epics,
CecilB. DeMille. When they began working on the movie Ben Hur, DeMille
talked to Charlton Heston—the star of the movie—about the all-important chariot
race at the end. He decided Heston should actually learn to drive the
chariot himself, rather thanjust using a stunt double. Heston agreed to take
chariot-driving lessons to makethe movie as authentic as possible. Learning
to drive a chariot with horses four abreast, however, was no small matter.

After
extensive work and days of practice, Heston returned to the movie set and
reported to DeMille. "I think I can drive the chariot all right, Cecil,"
said Heston, "but I'm not at all sure I can actually win the race."

Smiling slightly, DeMille said, "Heston, you just stay in
the race, and I'll makesure you win."

Those are the words of God to
everyone through a time of tumultuous change: "John,Mary, Heather, you just
stay in the race, and I'll make sure you win." Look for God's hand. If you
cannot see it in the event itself, look for it in the aftermathwhen you are
putting your life back together. I promise you, God's hand will be there.
(King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com)

Laugh for the
Day:

"What
happened to you?" asked the bystander of the man lying on the sidewalk outside
of the beauty parlor. The man shook his head groggily and rubbed his bruised
chin. "Well, the last thing I remember was my wife coming out of the beauty
salon. I took one look at her and said, 'Well, honey ... at least you tried.'"

Reader’s
Question:

Question: “I’ve
been reading your devotional book 100
Motivational Moments for Writers and Speakers and I see where Betty Steele
Everett sold over 4000 manuscripts. Does she have a secret to
share?”

Reply: I met
Betty once years ago. She sold around 2000 manuscripts the first time, and then sold them again
and again as reprints. Truthfully,
that’s how most Christian writers make money by selling reprints. I’ll cover
that in a later blog.

Interviewing Hints
(continued)

10. Writing Spin-Off Articles

Ask the subject if he or she
belongs to any religious or educational organizations and, if so, do they have a
publication you could submit related stories to?

11. After the Interview

Write your article as soon as
possible after the interview while details are still fresh in your mind. I often
send a rough draft to the interviewee if the editor allows it. This isn’t a hard
and fast rule, but it is a courteous gesture if you have the time, and
especially if you’ve included quotations and statistics you want to verify. Send
the subject a thank-you note and a copy of the published article.

12. Conclusion

The most important thing to
remember in interviewing is that you’re a Christian first, a writer second. The
best rule to follow is the Golden Rule. One author in a book on interviewing
says that you get your best interview when you’ve turned off your recorder.

This is the same person who says
you get your best quotes when the person says “This is off the record.” I don’t
agree. When the subject tells me it’s off the record, it’s off the record; we
shouldn’t even have to be told that. We should have an inner sense that tells us
when the person is sharing something not for publication.

Treat your subject as you’d like
to be treated, and you’ll be welcomed back for a second interview.

Remember, “We are called to write and we
will be responsible at the Judgment for the people we could have helped but
didn’t because we didn’t write what God laid on our hearts to write” (Harold
Ivan Smith).

About Me

Donna Clark Goodrich, freelance writer, editor, and speaker is a wife, mother of three and grandmother of two. A native of Jackson, Michigan, she has lived in Mesa, Arizona, since 1969. She enjoys teaching at Christian writers conferences. Author of 23 books and over 700 published manuscripts, Donna says, “I write devotional and self-help books to encourage Christians in their daily walk with God, how-to books to train writers, biographies to tell other people's stories, short stories and poetry for readers' enjoyment, and personal experience articles to share how God has helped me through life situations.”
dgood648@aol.com; www.thewritersfriend.net